I'm from Southern California. But I don't live there anymore, I left in the 1970's. Then I moved to San Jose, CA. But I don't live there anymore, I left in the1980's. I moved to the California Gold country, near Jackson, CA. But I don't live there anymore, because I moved to the Sacramento region in the 1990's. It's been good to me so far. My first home in the foothills of the Sacramento valley doubled in price in 5 years, so I sold that and bought a distressed property nearby for about $.50 on the dollar in 2000, spent the last six years upgrading, remodeling and landscaping it, and it has more than doubled in value (after "losing" value in the recent housing slump). Even if prices locally drop 25%, I double my investment here, so I'll sell when the market will bear it. I don't think I'll make much more in CA real estate though, unless I wait and buy some from folks that went too deep on STUPID mortgages and HELOCs over the last five years.
I am sick and tired of Calif and the crazy pace of life here, and will retire to a paid off home out of state sometime in the next few years.